I would like to go for the lowest costing helicopter which will meet all of the above criterias.
(I have tried a 2-channel infrared RC $20 helicopter but was not satisfied - hard to control, less airtime)

Please advise which indoor helicopter I should buy ?
Please feel free to recommend any helicopter. All suggestions are very welcome.

All helis that are 4ch will break easily, but most of the time it is only a $9 part that breaks, so make sure you get a heli that has spares available. I have a twister medevac and have had no trouble with it.

The eFlite CX2 might cost a litle more but it is the best to get. Parts are readily available without having to have them ordered. The new CX2 uses a 2.4GHz radio which eliminates interference from someone else and if you have a DX7 or DX6i you can fly the heli with it.

A friend just goa a CX2 and it took us about ten minutes without the manual to get the Cx2 flying with my DX7. First off you use the airplane mode on the DX7. Then we had some fun figuring out the servo directions.

It took me about 30 seconds to get the CX2 trimmed in and flying. Did I mention that I have been flying & crashing the eFlite Blade CP Pro? After flying the BCPP the CX2 is almost boring. But it's great if you're just learning heli's. Be careful flying indoors - getting too close to furniture and walls can suck you right in to where you don't want to be; then it's off to the hobby store for new blades.

One thing you might want to do after several hours of flying the CX2 is to adjust the servo throws so it is a bit faster. Out of the box the CX2 is quite slow. Also have someone that knows RC take a look to see if the servo's are aligned properly; my CP Pro out of the box was a mess, but the CX2 is quite a bit different than the BCPP.

Get an extra battery or two! Common Sense makes a nice CX2 size battery that is cheaper than eFlite. The CX2 also had different bodys you can get to make it look like it's not right out of the box. You might also want to get an extra set of blades while you're at the hobby store; the CX2 comes with spare blades but...

I am getting a CX2 for Xmas--I saw the box yesterday, but I can't open it befor Christmas morning [orders from Mrs. Santa]--Anyone have any pre-flite adjustment recommendations befor I fly it -- Any advice will be sincerely appreciated....................

I am getting a CX2 for Xmas--I saw the box yesterday, but I can't open it befor Christmas morning [orders from Mrs. Santa]--Anyone have any pre-flite adjustment recommendations befor I fly it -- Any advice will be sincerely appreciated....................

Read the manual and watch the VCD that comes with the CX-2. I just got mine yesterday and set it up today in my kitchen. Took a few minutes as a first time heli flyer to get it trimmed but once I did it would hover quite stably.

I didn't have enough indoor room to fly so I did the silly thing and brought it outside in 30F temperatures. I landed but it fell to the side and broke both lower blades. I thought that wasn't too bad, but it also took out the plastic rods that protrude from the thing the lower blades snap onto.

In order for this not to happen to me again, I bought the aluminum upgrade part. I had to take much of the heli to replace this part and didn't want to have to do it again so the $17 for the aluminum part vs. $6 for the plastic part wasn't a big deal for me. Especially since I spent 3 hours plus two trips to the hobby store to get my heli running again.